Mimms seizes fundraising lead in Paterson council race

PATERSON — Former school board member Lilisa Mimms has taken a sizable lead in campaign fundraising in the 14-person contest for three City Council seats.

Mimms has raised $44,092, or three times more than her nearest rival in an election with three citywide, at-large seats up for grabs, according to preliminary reports filed recently with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

So far, Mimms’ nearest competitors in terms of fundraising are Maritza Davila, the lone incumbent in the election, who raised $13,575, and school Trustee Flavio Rivero, with $13,558, the campaign finance reports show. Davila and Rivera are running as a team and have campaign signs that bear both their photos and names.

Three former members of the City Council — men who all lost their bids for re-election in recent years — rank next in terms of campaign war chests. Aslon Goow Sr. has raised $12,500, Mohammed Akhtaruzzam $12,461 and Kennneth McDaniel $8,150, the reports show.

None of the other contenders has reported raising more than $5,100, the threshold under state law at which candidates must file document detailing their campaign contributions and spending.

“It’s important that I started early,” Mimms said of her fundraising lead. “I’ve been campaigning for a long time. I believe people are supporting me because I’m the candidate they believe can move the city forward.”

Davila attributed Mimms’ fundraising success to her alliance with mayoral candidate Andre Sayegh, whose $171,000 war chest is the largest so far among the six men vying for the city’s top position. Davila also said her own campaign is getting help from numerous volunteers, which she said negated her need for a big fundraising operation.

“What you need is the support of the people,” Davila said.

Rivera, who works as the Passaic County government treasurer, said fundraising plays a bigger role for people like himself who have demanding full-time jobs.

“I don’t have the luxury of being able to spend all day on the campaign trail,” Rivera said. “That’s where the money comes in. It helps you get your message out.”

Akhtaruzzam is running in alliance with mayoral candidate Pedro Rodriguez and council contender Juan Mitch Santiago and the three of them are sharing some campaign signs.

“I have enough money for my campaign,” said Akhtaruzzam, who was on the council from 2012 to 2016, “and I’ll have more coming in.”

Goow, who served 12 years on the council before being beaten by Akhatruzzam in the 2nd Ward race six years ago, has raised as much as $60,000 in previous elections.

“This time it’s different for me, I’m running a different type of campaign,” Goow said. “I don’t need as much money.”

Goow said he has cut back on his overhead costs by not taking such steps as renting a campaign headquarters. Goow said he has not held any fundraisers, but has received contributions from backers without events.

McDaniel, who was on the council from 2012 to 2014, said “money is always a concern” in an election.

“The more money you have, the more you’ll be able to do, the more elaborate your campaign will be,” said McDaniel.

The first wave of campaign finance reports were due 29 days before the May 8 election. The state’s deadline for the 11-day pre-election reports was April 27 and ELEC said it will make those documents available for public review on Friday.